Governance

Meredith Potts, Executive Director and President
Meredith has been at the helm of FIRE since 2004. Cumulatively, she has spent more than 20 months in Mongolia orchestrating six volunteer distribution trips, researching ongoing and future projects, establishing FIRE’s current programs and building long-term relationships with Mongolian officials. Meredith, who is also a yoga instructor, photographer, and filmmaker, co-directed and produced “One Steppe at a Time: FIRE in Mongolia”, a documentary about FIRE’s 2005 clothing and medical aid distribution trip.  She was David Edwards' studio manager from 2000 through 2007, where she was first introduced to FIRE. In addition to FIRE operations, she has spent eight months in India volunteering with the poor and studying yoga.  Her passion for helping others, incongruously, began at age seven after her first encounter with the homeless while visiting San Francisco.   Volunteerism has continued throughout her life.  She started her high school's environmental club and recycling program.  While in India she photographed Mother Theresa and is now working on large, ambitious projects in Mongolia.

Munkhjargal Ayurzana, Medical Director
Dr. Munkhjargal has been with FIRE since December 2010. She is currently supervising FIRE's office in Ulaanbaatar and directing all of our medical programs.  Munkhjargal is a qualified medical doctor and has had more than 10 years experience in diverse development contexts and settings including civil society, private and government sectors. Munkhjargal has served as the Executive Director for the National AIDS Foundation, one of Mongolia's leading  reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and STIs NGOs and capacity building of civil society organizations. Also she worked as a coordinator for health emergencies and disaster preparedness and as a monitoring and evaluation officer at the Ministry of Health, Mongolia.  For the last a few years she has been working in partnership with international organizations to manage and coordinate the implementation of donor-funded projects and assist in capacity building of community based organizations.

Baasantsetseg Baatar, Administrative Officer
Ms. Baasantsetseg grew up in rural Mongolia.  She moved to the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, to attend high school and University, graduating with  a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.  Ms. Baasantsetseg served as the chief accountant at Boroo Mining Co. Ltd., one of Mongolia’s largest mining companies, for three years.  From 2009 until 2011 she served as the Accountant and Office Manager for World Growth Mongolia, an international NGO working in Mongolia. She enjoys working for NGOs and feels that it gives her a greater purpose in life.  She lived in London, England for seven year and Russia for two years giving her an excellent understanding of western accounting practices and helping to bridge the professional and cultural gap between Mongolia and the West.  Ms. Basasantsetseg enjoys’ learning different skills.  She regularly takes courses on her own time to further develop her knowledge. Ms. Baasantsetseg’s free time is spent with her husband and three children.

Board of Directors

David Edwards, Founder and Vice President
David is a freelance documentary photographer and guide, having made Flagstaff his home since 1982. He has led river trips around the world and continues to lead horse trips throughout Mongolia. His story about the Kazakh eagle hunters of western Mongolia appeared in the September 1999 issue of National Geographic. Dave took his first trip to Mongolia in 1992 for a self-assignment covering the horse culture. Moved by the poverty he saw, specifically in orphanages and among the street children, Dave began carrying duffel bags of warm clothes to Mongolia and personally distributed them on his subsequent trips. In 1997 he founded the Mongolian Orphans Association, which is now called FIRE. He has a photography studio in downtown Flagstaff, AZ.

Way Yuhl, Treasurer
Way Yuhl is a successful entrepreneur who has lived in Flagstaff for 7 years with his wife, Kim, and two boys Brennan and Carter.  Way and Kim's current entrepreneurial success is Fizz Bath Shop, a natural bath and body products outlet. In just over a year Fizz is posting a profit and receiving solicitations from around the country to franchise.  Way is well known and respected in the Flagstaff business community and is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, The Flagstaff Tourism Commission, Flagstaff Leadership Program, Flagstaff Independent Business Association, The Downtown Business Alliance and Flagstaff Professionals. He also donates his time counseling individuals how to start and grow business and is a regular speaker at the Coconino County Basic Business classes. In his free time, Way enjoys hiking, camping, snowshoeing, skiing, cycling, tennis, boxing, weight lifting, reading, the study of languages, and international travel. He has explored more than 20 countries.  He holds degrees in Liberal Arts, Geography, Education and Geomorphology.

Susan Bigley, NP, Board Member
Susan Bigley is our newest member of the fire board. She resides in Flagstaff, Arizona where she is the Associate Medical Director at North Country Health care. Her current role as a Family Nurse Practitioner and administrator of a community health center exemplifies her commitment to health care delivery to the undeserved. Prior to joining North Country, she spent 18 plus years on the Hopi and Navajo reservations. First as a public health nurse then as a nurse practitioner. She earned her Master of Science degree from Northern Arizona University. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio she has called Arizona home since 1989. She lives there with her beautiful daughter and a few too many pets.

Medical Advisory Board

Narnygerel Erdenbileg, M.D.
Dr. Narnygerel was  FIRE's second full time employee and first medical director in Mongolia.  In November 2010, she left to begin a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Washington DC. Nara is a Mongolian trained physician, specializing in internal medicine with a focus on preventive medicine. She remains a dedicated and invaluable member of FIRE's team. She worked as a medical translator and logistics coordinator for FIRE starting in 2005. Nara has worked for the World Health Organization (WHO), Millennium Challenge Account Mongolia (MCA-M) and conducted research with the Health Sciences University of Mongolia. She also completed an internship for Municipal Hospital in Japan, where she studied the Japanese medical system. She is an avid reader and enjoys practicing ballet in her free time. Nara is passionate about medicine and helping to improve the medical system of Mongolia.

John Tveten, M.D.
Dr. Tveten is an emergency and family medicine board certified physician with 19 years experience working with international health education projects. He has worked as a field trainer for the Harvard Medical School Institute for International Health, where he trained non-emergency physicians to provide emergency medical care in under-served areas. Dr. Tveten has spent 10 years working as an emergency physician on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Northern Arizona, facing challenges similar to those in Mongolia. He has been involved with FIRE since his first trip to Mongolia as a medical volunteer in 2005 and has served on our board of directors. Dr. Tveten is also a musician, artist and outdoor adventurer. He also played on the US National rugby team. 

John Durham, M.D.
Dr. Durham is a board certified Orthopedic hand surgeon. He has gained extensive experience in trauma treatment, while establishing himself as a specialist in hand surgery and reconstruction techniques. He has worked at Summit Center Orthopedic and Rehabilitation in Flagstaff, AZ, since 1992 and has been participating in medical missions around the world for over 20 years. In his leisure time, he enjoys skiing, sea kayaking, and rock climbing. Dr. Durham and his wife Lisa have two twin boys. 2011 will be Dr. Durham’s fourth trip to Mongolia with FIRE. He has built a strong foundation for this project and maintains a strong level of commitment to FIRE, the medical staff at Trauma Hospital, and Mongolia.

Scott Patlovich, Ph.D. Candidate, Public Health
Scott Jeffrey Patlovich is a Senior Safety and Health Manager in the Office of Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) at the National University of Singapore where his primary focus is on biological safety.  He has served as a technical consultant and provided training on blood-borne pathogens awareness, needle stick safety, and medical waste management in research laboratories and hospitals around the world.   Prior to arriving at NUS he was the Bio-safety Program Manager and Alternate Responsible Official for the select agent program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (USA), a position in which he served for nearly eight years.  Scott is a Certified Biological Safety Professional as recognized by the American Biological Safety Association and a Specialist Microbiologist in Biological Safety as recognized by the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists.  He holds a Master of Public Health degree in Occupational and Environmental Health Science from the University of Texas School of Public Health (USA) and is currently a doctoral candidate for the degree of Doctor of Public Health focusing on disease control and prevention.  Scott has made four trips to Mongolia specifically for public health education. He has been instrumental in creating and leading FIRE's Health Safety and Medical Waste Management Program.

Krista Patlovich, MPH
Krista holds a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of Texas which has motivated her to pursue both professional and personal paths with regards to health care related preventative program implementation, monitoring and evaluation.  She has worked as a Clinical Research Assistant for the National University Hospital of Singapore Infectious Diseases Division, and furthered her expertise in the areas of health quality, education and safety, particularly in research at the patient interface. Through this clinical aspect of health services research, she has gained valuable insight into the importance of clear and precise day-to-day communication between researchers and hospital administration in order to reach the most effective outcomes – a critical link when considering measures in developing and developed countries alike.  Krista has also worked as Safety Specialist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. In her free time Krista has engaged with underserved communities of Mexico and Asia.  She has worked along the Texas-Mexico border educating mothers on culturally based nutritional practices. In Mongolia she has worked with FIRE to provide consultation on patient safety (hand hygiene, medication safety, surgical safety, patient identification) and hospital waste management as it pertains to infection control through three different volunteer trips.  Krista finds traveling to Mongolia rewarding, as the people she works with have become advocates and energized for change, true champions for healthcare safety and for improving their hospital’s culture. Krista is also an avid runner making time for this additional passion almost everyday.

Pearish Smith, M.D.
Dr. Smith has been a board certified Family Medicine doctor since 1998.  She has worked on the Hopi and Navajo Reservations in Northern Arizona since 1999. She practiced Family Medicine for 6 years until shifting her focus to Emergency Medicine for the past 7 years. She started a Diabetes Clinic and served as an advisor to the Substance Abuse Program on the Hopi Reservation and has a passion for bringing medical care to the Native American peoples and remote access areas. This interest motivated her to join FIRE's Medical Team. Dr Smith has been involved with FIRE since 2005 when she traveled to Mongolia as a medical volunteer. Most recently she studied Acupuncture in San Francisco and has been running a clinic on the Hopi Reservation for the past year. She loves animals, the great outdoors, art and music.
 

Yanjima Bira, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Yanjimaa has been advising and partnering with FIRE since 2006.  She has more than 20 years experience in clinical and molecular biology research on Immunology and Immunity, HIV/AIDS, and TB, training health care workers and program management.  Dr.Yanjmaa is one of Mongolia’s leading doctors in Autoimmune disease and is currently working as the Director of Autoimmune Disease and Rehabilitation Clinic, focused on research, prevention and treatment of autoimmune disease in Mongolia.  In addition to founding the forementioned Autoimmune Clinic, she is the country representative for Project CURE in Mongolia.  Project CURE is a medical commodities US based non-profit orgranization that collects and distributes medical supplies throughout the world.  She earned her medical degree from the 2nd Moscow Medical University in Russia, a Masters of Medical Science from the Medical University of Ulaanbaator, Mongolia and her PhD in Autoimmune Diseases, from the Medical School of Tokushima University, Japan.